Package delivery box structure



Sept. 18, 1962 D. L. SAXON 3,054,555

PACKAGE DELIVERY BOX STRUCTURE Filed March 13, 1961 IN V EN TOR.

A T TORNEYJ;

BY M W Patented Sept. 18, 1962 3,054,555 PACKAGE DELHVERY BOX STRUCTUREDavid L. Saxon, 16729 Fern-way Road, Cleveland, Ohio Filed Mar. 13,1961, Ser. No. 95,252 6 (Ilaims. Zl. 232-43.4)

My invention relates to box structures mounted in a wall for thedelivery or transfer of packages or the like through the structure fromone side of the wall to the other.

A common example of a package delivery box structure to which myinvention is particularly suited is a box or chute mounted within a wallfor the deposit of bottles of milk or other container within the boxfrom one side of the wall, such as from the outside of a building, forsubsequent removal from the box from the other side of the wall, such asfrom the inside of a building. Such structures may, of course, also bemounted in other walls in a building, such as in the wall between a hallor corridor and an inside room of an apartment or suite of rooms in thebuilding.

The purpose of my invention is to assure that no one may attain ingressinto a room through a wall through such a box structure by opening bothdoors thereto at the same time.

An object of my invention is to provide such a structure as to preventboth the inner and outer oppositely disposed doors of such a deliverybox structure from being simultaneously opened.

Another object is to provide an efiicient and economical means for aninterlock between inner and outer opposed doors of a delivery boxstructure so arranged as to permit either of the doors to be opened butnot both of the doors to be opened at the same time.

Another object is to provide an improved structure assuring privacy andsafety to the occupants of a house or room so that those on the outsideof such house or room may not look through or reach through a deliverybox structure in the wall of such house or room and utilized fordelivery of packages and the like.

Another object is the provision of an improved structure meeting theneeds for an economical and eflicient structure of this character and atthe same time including means for preventing concurrent opening of bothof the oppositely disposed inner and outer doors of the structure.

Other objects and a fuller understanding of my invention may be had byreferring to the following description and claims, taken in conjunctionwith the accompanying drawing, in which:

'FIGURE 1 is a perspective view of a delivery box structure embodying myinvention and showing the same unmounted or removed from a wall;

FIGURE 2 is a partial sectional view of my improved box structureshowing the same positioned in a building wall with both doors of thestructure in closed position;

FIGURE 3 is a sectional View similar to that of FIG- URE 2 but showingone of the doors in an open position and the other door in closedposition;

FIGURE 4 is a sectional view similar to that of FIG- URE 2 but showingthe opposite door open and the door that was open in FIGURE 3 now in aclosed position; and

FIGURE 5 is a sectional view showing detail of the interlockingarrangement between the doors and looking in the direction of the arrows5--5 of FIGURE 2.

The Wall 11} may be the usual wall of a building, either the outer wallor an inner wall, through which delivery of packages or the like isdesired. The wall has a usual rectangular opening formed therein for theaccommodation of my delivery box structure.

The box denoted by the reference character 11 has two parallel spacedside walls 12 and two parallel spaced top and bottom walls 13, whichtogether form a rectangular frame. Suitable channel members around theedge of the frame overlap the wall 10 and provide a finished beadappearance around the structure and help provide strength and rigidityto the structure, the channel members being preferably welded to thewalls 12 and 13.

An outer door 14 is hingedly connected by outside hinges 16 to the framestructure along one of the side walls 12. The axes of the hinges 16 areadjacent one peripheral border of the passageway through the wallprovided by the rectangular-shaped box structure 11.

*On the opposite end of the passageway through the box structure 11,that is, on the inside of the wall 10, there is hingedly connected aninner wall 15 by means of inside hinges 17 mounted to the same side wall12 as was mounted the outside hinges 16. In other words, the axes of thehinges 16 and 17 are both disposed on the same peripheral border of thepassageway but are spaced from each other in that hinge 16 is on theoutside and hinge 17 is on the inside of the wall in which the boxstructure is mounted.

A suitable latch 18 is pivotally mounted to the outside door 14 in amanner which interengages with a catch member 19 secured to the wallstructure along its edge opposite of the hinges 16. A suitable handle,not shown, is also attached to the inner door 15 so as to facilitate theopening thereof. Hooded vents 20 are formed in the outer door 14- so asto permit air to circulate within the box structure while preventingrain or snow from entering downwardly into the box structure.

An interlocking arrangement is provided by a pair of plates 21 and 23mounted to the doors 14 and 15, respectively. The plate 21, sometimesreferred to as a follower plate, is mounted to the inside of the door 14by a bentover portion 21a of the plate 21 being welded to the door 14.The plate 23, sometimes referred to as a cam plate, is secured to theinside of the door 15 by a bent-over portion 23a of the plate 23 beingwelded to the door 15. The plates 21 and 23 are disposed in parallelplanes closely adjacent to each other as seen in the drawing.

Mounted to the free end of the plate 21 is a pin 22 which is weldedtheerto and disposed to extend upwardly from the plane of the plate 21.The upper end of the pin 22 has a flattened end or button portion 22aand disposed under the portion 22a is a washer 22b.

The cam plate 23 has formed therein a slot extending verticallytherethrough, which slot may be referred to as a camming slot. Thecamming slot has a long arm or portion 24 and a relatively short arm orportion 25 which meet and communicate with each other at the junction26. The pin 22 carried by the plate 21 extends through the slot and theflattened end portion 22a and washer 22b, being greater in diameter thanthe width of the slot made up of portions 24 and 25, is maintained abovethe plane of the plate 23. The arrangement is such that the pin 22 maymove along the long arm 24 and along the short arm 25 and may movebetween the arms 24 and 25 through the junction 26.

The short arm or portion 25 of the slot is disposed in an arc of acircle generally generated around the axis of the hinges 17. The longarm or portion 24 of the slot is disposed in an arc of a circlegenerally generated around the axis of the hinges 16.

When the door 14 is swung on the axis of the hinges 16, as to the openposition shown in FIGURE 3, then the pin 22 travels in the arc of thelong arm- 24 of the slot from the position of the junction 26 to theposition shown in FIGURE 3. As long as the pin 22 is confined Within thelong arm 24 of the slot, the interengagement of the pin 22 with theconfining edges of the slot prevent the door 15 from being swung to anopen position from 3 its closed position. For example, with the door 14in the position shown in FIGURE 3, it is seen that the door 15 is heldin a closed position and cannot be swung open.

When the door 15 is swung on the axis of the hinges 17, as to the openposition shown in FIGURE 4, then the pin 22 travels in the arc of theshort arm or portion 25 of the slot from the position of the junction 26to the position shown in FIGURE 4. As long as the pin 22 is confinedwithin the short arm 25 of the slot, the interengagement of the pin 22with the confining edges of the slot prevent the door 14 from beingswung to an open position from its closed position. For example, withthe door 15 in the open position shown in FIGURE 4, it is seen that thedoor 14 is held in a closed position and cannot be swung open. There maybe an intermediate position wherein the pin 22 is located intermediatethe junction 26 and its position shown in FIGURE 4 upon the door 15being slightly ajar or opened a very small degree which would permit thedoor 14 to be also opened a very small degree. However, be cause of theinterlocking arrangement, both doors cannot be opened to anyconsiderable degreerand in no case can both doors be swung to theirmaximum open position. For example, the door 14 cannot be swung to theopen position shown in FIGURE 3 at the same time that the door 15 isswung to its open position shown in FIGURE 4. Thus, it may be accuratelystated that the interlocking structure here described prevents thesimultaneous or concurrent opening of both doors 14 and 15. Thisprevents unauthorized entry through the passageway, as for example, fromthe side of door 14 to the side of door 15, because when door 14 isopened, then door 15 is retained in a closed position. Conversely, whenthe door 15 is opened, then door 14 is retained in a closed position.

There is provided in the long arm 24 of the slot a dwell or enlargedportion 24a. By momentarily stopping the swinging of the door 14 to theposition where the pin 22 is located in the dwell 24a, there is a slightretardation to further movement and a tendency for the door 14 to stayin the position determined by the location of the pin 22 in the dwell2411. This aids in holding the door 14 ajar while deliveries are beingmade, such as when milk bottles are placed within the passageway formedbetween the box structure from the outside, that is, from the side ofthe door 14. However, by manually swinging the door 14 to the closedposition, the pin 22 readily leaves the dwell'24a and moves along thelength of the arm 24 of the slot to the position of the junction 26,that is, to the position shown in FIGURE 2.

It will be readily appreciated by those having knowledge of the problemsof devices of this general nature and of the shortcomings of the priordevices, that there is herein provided a useful and important structureserving a useful function in a novel and eflicient manner.

The present disclosure includes that contained in the spaced transversewalls extending therebetween to description.

Although this invention has been described in its preferred form with acertain degree of particularity, it is understood that the presentdisclosure of the preferred form has been made only by way of exampleand that numerous changes in the details of construction and thecombination and arrangement of parts may be resorted to withoutdeparting from the spirit and scope of the invention as hereinafterclaimed.

What is claimed is: a

1. An article transfer compartment for mounting in a wall of a buildingcomprising in combination, an openended frame adapted to be positionedin the wall of a building for providing a passageway therethrough andadapted to accommodate articles being delivered through saidpassagewayfrom one side to the opposite side of said wall, said frame havingspaced upright walls and spaced transverse walls extending therebetweento define said passageway, a first door hinged on said frame on a firstupright axis disposed adjacent one of the upright walls of said frame onone side, a second door hinged on said frame on a second upright axisdisposed adjacent said one of the upright walls of said frame on anapposite side, a first plate attached to said first door to swing in ahorizontal plane upon the hinged swinging of said first door on saidframe, a second plate attached to said second door to swing in ahorizontal plane upon said hinged swinging of said second door, saidplates being disposed in parallel horizontal planes proximate to eachother, a pivot-pin member carried by one of said plates and disposed onan upright axis, the other of said plates having a slot formed thereinaccommo dating said pivot-pin member to permit said pivot-pin member toslide along said slot and to be confined between opposite edges thereof,said slot having a first leg and a second leg meeting at .a juncture,the first of said legs, being disposed in a horizontally disposed aregenerated on the first of said upright axes and the other of said legsbeing disposed in a horizontally disposed are generated on the second ofsaid upright axes, said pivot-pin member being movable from one leg toanother through the juncture of said legs, the confinment of saidpivot-pin member in said slot to slide along only one leg at a timeassuring that upon the swinging of either of said doors to open positionthe other of the doors is held against swinging open.

2. In combination, an open-ended frame member adapted to be positionedin a wall to define a passageway therethrough, a pair of doors hingedlyconnected to said frame member at opposite ends of said passageway toenclose the same, the axes of the hinged connections of said doors beingalong the same border of said passageway, a first plate member securedto one of said doors to extend toward the other of said doors, a secondplate member secured to the said other of said doors to extend towardsaid one of said doors, said plate members being disposed in paralleladjacent planes, one of said plate members having a pivot portionextending therefrom normal to the plane of said one plate memher, theother of said plate members having a slot extending therethrough andaccommodating said pivot por tion to slide therealong and to be confinedagainst movement laterally of the slot by the edges defining said slot,said slot having interconnecting portions to permit said pivot portionto move from one portion to another, one of said portions being formedin an are substantially concentric with the hinged connection of one ofsaid doors, the other of said portions being formed in an aresubstantially concentric with the hinged connection of the other of saiddoors, the confinment of said pivot portion in said slot permitting theswinging open only of the door corresponding to the slot portiondisposed in an are centered on the axis of the hinges of such door andin which said pivot portion is then located.

3. Interlocking means interconnecting two oppositely spaced doors eachswingable on pivot axes, respectively, the said pivot axes beingpositioned at opposite ends of a passageway closable by said doors anddisposed on the same side of said passageway, comprising in combination,a pair of bracket members each carried by a respective door andextending toward the other of said doors to swing in parallel adjacentplanes upon the swinging of the respective doors, one of said bracketmembers having a pair of arcuate slots formed therein inone of the saidplanes, said arcuate slots interconnecting at a juncture of said arcuateslots, one of said arcuate slots being substantially concentric to oneof said pivot axes and the other of said arcuate slots beingsubstantially concentric to the other of said pivot axes, the other ofsaid bracket members having a pin portion carried thereby and slidablymovable in said arcuate slots therealong, the swinging of one door onits pivot axis confining the said pin .5 portion in the arcuate slotconcentric with the said pivot axis, and the swinging of the other dooron its pivot axis confining the said pin portion in the arcuate slotconcentric with the other said pivot axis, said confinement restrainingagainst swinging open the door other than the door swung open on thepivot axis centered on the archate slot in which said pin portion isconfined.

4. Interlocking mechanism connecting a pair of oppositely disposedspaced doors each hingedly connected to a supporting frame defining apassageway to permit swinging of each door on its respective hinge axison the same peripheral edge of said passageway, comprising incombination, a cam guide member carried by one of said doors to swingtherewith and a cam follower member carried by the other of said doorsto swing therewith, each of said members extending inwardly of saidpassageway toward the other of said members in the closed positions ofsaid doors, said cam guide member having a first arcuate guiding pathdefined thereby and a second arcuate guiding path communicating with thefirst arcuate guiding path, said first arcuate guiding path beingconcentric with the hinge axis of a first of said doors and said secondarcuate guiding path being concentric with the hinge axis of a second ofsaid doors, the swinging open of said first of said doors on its hingeaxis shifting the second arcuate guiding path from concentricdisposition relative to the hinge axis of said second of said doors,said cam follower member being engaged to said cam guide memher to slidealong said arcuate guiding paths alternately from one arcuate guidingpath to the other in accordance with the positions of said doors, theinterengagement of said cam follower member and cam guide member inalternate of said arcuate paths causing either of said doors to be heldfrom swinging open on its hinge axis upon the other of said doorsswinging open on its pivot axis.

5. In a mechanism for restricting simultaneous swinging open of spacedaligned hinged doors, the combination of, a first member carried by oneof said doors to swing therewith and having formed therein a continuousslot having two arcuately disposed portions, the first portion beingdisposed in an are centered on the hinge axis of one door and the otherdisposed in an arc centered on the hinge axis of the other door in theclosed position of said one door, and a second member carried by theother of said doors and having a guide portion positioned in said slotto slide therealong and from one portion to another, the opening of saidone door swinging the said other portion of the continuous slot fromconcentric disposition relative to the hinge axis of said other door,the maintenance of said guide portion in said slot permitting theswinging open only of the door associated with the slot portion in wihchthe guide portion is located and restricting the swinging open of theother door.

6. In apparatus of the class described, the combination of first camguide means carried by a first hingedly swinging door, to swingtherewith, second cam guide means carried by the same first hingedlyswinging door, to swing therewith, and cam follower means carried by asecond hingedly swinging door to swing therewith and spaced from anddisposed opposite of the said first hingedly swinging door, said camfollower means being selectively engageable with one of said cam guidemeans only at one time and readily movable from engagement with one camguide means to the other upon relative movement between said camfollower means and said cam guide means, the first cam guide means beingin an arc concentric with the hinge axis of one of said doors and thesecond cam guide means being in an arc concentric with the hinge axis ofthe other of said doors in the closed, position of said one of saiddoors.

References (Jited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS1,472,251 Siedhofi Oct. 30, 1923 1,571,988 Woodward Feb. 9, 19262,266,780 Love Dec. 23, 1941

